Where Do You Draw the Line?

Where do you draw the line between candidates and clients? Who do you form an alliance with? What has happened to
the professional's approach to recruitment and placement? Has the
industry become the "puppy mill" of candidates? I certainly
hope not...

My personal business
perspective is one of integrity, research and a thorough understanding of both
the client company and the candidate in order to present the best possible
individuals for every position. So why is it then that you present a
candidate, with a full candidate summary, due diligence completed, candidate
interviews (client loves them) and the rug gets pulled out from under you?
Why indeed....

This recently happened
to me and I was quite shocked. It seems that the client, who has
documented and received a full qualification summary and resume from me, and
then within minutes, received (just paper) the resume from another firm.
Although I spent more than an hour speaking with the candidate and then
some writing up the summary, vetting background and securing s/he an interview
and now a follow up, I have been booted from the placement. Intrigue?
Not quite. From HR to me (agency): "Although I told
"candidate" that we are working with you, it seems that the resume
(with no summary information), was received 30 minutes prior so we need to work
with "other" agency". This is AFTER the candidate has had a
first interview and I, as the agency, has prepped the candidate, received positive
feedback and have been informed that they wish for an elevation interview [ oh
and by the way, the HR person was placed by this firm who did not present any
background salary, etc. ] Oops and really?

What do you do?
Take the high road and back out? Fight it, go for a split? Begin
papering your client with resumes to see if they get in first?

Ironically, I time
stamp all resumes and submissions and mine was submitted with a full summary
first...however, the company has flipped and decided to go with another firm
that sent the same candidate later (resume only and no background). Herein
lies the problem: Where do we draw the line and accelerate legalities,
where do we place the candidate in these situations, and, how far do we push
the ethical and realistic boundaries as recruiters? Fight or flight -
where so you draw the line?

As I asked my client:
Do you want me to simply push paper or do you want a full representation
of the candidate? My candidate says: I
want you, my hiring manger says, I want you, my HR manager says ummmmm. Where do you draw the line, and what would
you do?

Your thoughts..

Comment by Tom Dimmick on October 23, 2010 at 6:28am: Great question and one we in this business have all had to face at one time or another, in one variation of circumstance or another. I think the answer depends as much on our own personality and values as it does the circumstances. The circumstances you have described would probably be universally agreed upon as being clearly unjust. The question as to what to do will not be so uniform.

When I am confronted with an issue that is so clearly unjust I have two very simple questions that will determine my response. First, what do I want the result to be? The second, can I afford it?

Do I want the fee to come to me? Is that the outcome I will seek? Is there no other outcome that will satisfy me? If the answer is "yes" then I must check the cost. Will it require legal intervention? Attorney fees? Loss of client?

I think that the idea that I "play the tape to the end" before I begin to march down any certain path is going to serve my injured interests the best.

In my value

Comment by pam claughton on October 23, 2010 at 12:28pm: If they said the other agency submitted the person first, how do you know that is not the case?

If you KNOW that you actually submitted the person first, then it's a black and white issue and I would press for full credit. The risk is that you may lose the client, but maybe that is not such a bad thing?

Comment by Dave N. on October 27, 2010 at 12:59pm: As a smaller agency (relatively speaking) we find that this happens with some clients.

Unfortunately when the ethics of others are involved (that you have no control over) these things happen. Not all Recruiters or Agencies recruit ethically, and certainly not all HR departments are filled with people of the highest standards.

We do run into situations with larger agencies where they have more coverage inside the client site, and often use 'payola' to some extent.

The candidate also has some responsibility in this. You should always ask whether the candidate has been submitted for the position in question, and to whom. And they should tell you.

We prefer to take the high road, although we always let the client's management know what has happened (in a nice way of course). I believe that approach has gained us far more than it has cost us.